dal fry

Dal fry restaurant style recipe With video and step by step photos– dal fry is a popular Indian lentil recipe made with pigeon pea lentils, onions, tomatoes and spices. What you get after cooking the yellow lentils in an onion-tomato base is a delicious, creamy yellow lentils which is mildly spiced and slightly tangy to taste. This dal fry recipe tastes more like what is served in restaurants.

Dal fry is usually prepared with arhar dal also known as tur, toovar or yellow lentils or pigeon pea lentils. You can also use masoor dal (pink or orange lentils) or moong dal (mung lentils) to make this recipe.

Get My Secrets to Great Indian Food

Sign up for my FREE Beginners Guide to Delicious Indian Cooking

Both dal fry and Dal tadka are two popular dal dishes served in Indian restaurants. Dal fry is not thin and usually has a medium to a thick consistency. You can adjust the amount of water you want when you prepare it.

These two dal recipes are also famous in the road side Dhabas (roadside eateries) of India. But the dals served in the Dhaba have a different taste.

I had recently posted a dal recipe which is made in the Dhaba style. I tried it first time and the results were too good. It almost tasted like the Dhaba dal. here is the link: Dhaba style dal fry. there are many ways of making dals and I will keep on posting the different ways of making them.

Dal fry recipe video

How to make dal fry

Cooking lentils

1: take ½ cup tuvar dal (arhar dal or pigeon pea lentils) or half-half of tuvar dal and masoor dal (pink or orange lentils). Rinse the lentils in water for a couple of times.

2. Then add the lentils in a pressure cooker. Also add a pinch of turmeric powder and 1.5 cups water.

3. Pressure cook the lentils for 8-9 whistles on a medium flame till they are cooked completely. Once the dal is cooked, then you mash the dal and keep aside. You can see the doneness of the dal and consistency in the below pic. The lentils are cooked till completely soft. There should be no separate grains visible.

14. Stir and saute till the tomatoes become soft and pulpy. The oil should also start to leave the masala mixture. This an indication that the onion-tomatoes base mixture is cooked.

15. Add this fried mixture to the dal or add the mashed dal to the fried mixture.

16. Stir the dal well with the rest of the masala mixture.

17. Then pour 1 to 1.5 cups water. You can adjust the consistency by adding more or less water.

18. Stir very well to get a smooth & even consistency.

19. Then season with salt.

20. Stir and simmer the dal fry for 5 to 6 minutes on a low to medium flame.

21. Lastly add 1 tsp crushed kasoori methi (dry fenugreek leaves). You can also substitute kasoori methi with a pinch of fenugreek seeds powder. If you don’t have either, then just skip.

22. Then sprinkle ¼ to ½ tsp garam masala powder. If using homemade and a strong garam masala, then you can add ¼ tsp.

23. Stir and simmer dal fry for a minute.

24. Switch off the flame and lastly add 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves. You can also add ½ to 1 tsp lemon juice towards the end if you prefer.

25. Stir one last time.

26. Serve dal fry hot with parathas, rotis, jeera rice or plain steamed basmati rice accompanied with onion-tomato raita, papad, lime/lemon slices or mango pickle or onion salad or kachumber. You can also garnish it with some more coriander leaves while serving.

Add the tomatoes and cook till they soften and you see oil releasing from the sides.

Now add the mashed dal. Stir well. Add water + salt.

Stir and simmer the dal for 4-5 minutes more or till you get a smooth and slightly thick consistency.

Dal fry is not thin and is usually has a medium to thick consistency. So you can adjust the amount of water you want.

Keep the dal medium consistency if you prefer. Making it thin will spoil the taste.

Lastly crush the kasuri methi on the palms of your hands and add them to the dal. Then add garam masala powder. Simmer for a minute. Switch off the fire and add chopped coriander leaves. Add lemon juice if you want, at this stage and stir well.

Now you can garnish it with some more coriander leaves while serving.

While serving top the dal fry with some ghee or butter if required.

Serve dal fry hot with steamed basmati rice, biryani rice, jeera rice or saffron pulao. It also goes well with rotis or naan.

GOOD KARMAAll our content & photos are copyright protected. Please do not copy. As a blogger, if you want to adapt this recipe or make a youtube video, then please write the recipe in your own words and give a clickable link back to the recipe on this url.

LIKE OUR VIDEOS!Then do follow and SUBSCRIBE to us on youtube to get the latest Recipe Video updates.

TRIED THIS RECIPE? If you have made the recipe and like it then do share the recipe link on facebook, twitter & pinterest. For Instagram mention @vegrecipesofindia or tag #vegrecipesofindia

namaste and welcome to vegrecipesofindia.com which i started in feb 2009 and is a pure vegetarian blog. i have been passionate about cooking from childhood and began to cook from the age of 10. later having enrolled in a home science degree greatly enhanced my cooking & baking skills and took it to a different level which i now share as foolproof recipes. i was formally trained both in mainstream indian as well as international cuisines.

I made this for my husband last night who is from South India. He took it to the table and quickly ran back in to the kitchen with a shocked look, “This is too good!”. He loved it so much, as did I. He now wants me to cook it again. Thank you 🙂

dassana amit

Feb 01, 2017

Welcome Sarah. Glad to know that both of you liked the dal fry recipe.

Tammy

Jan 24, 2017

Most delicious dal ever! Thank you!

dassana amit

Jan 24, 2017

Welcome Tammy

Giusi

Jan 20, 2017

thank you, it was soooo good! I am saving your website so I can make more recipes!

dassana amit

Jan 21, 2017

Welcome Giusi. Glad to know this.

Veena

Jan 18, 2017

Your recipes are a blessing. Have tried so many of them and all have come out to be absolutely delicious dishes, earning me appreciation each time ? Thank you so so much. God bless.

dassana amit

Jan 18, 2017

Welcome Veena. Thanks for your kind words and best wishes.

deepa

Dec 23, 2016

superb yar.. Lv u soo much..?

dassana amit

Dec 24, 2016

thank you deepa ?

Lucy

Dec 12, 2016

I have about 5 vegetarian Indian cookbooks, and although I adore two of them, your food is always my favourite. I’ve cooked your recipes about 15 times now since I promised myself I’d get some basic skills in Indian cookery, and I’ve enjoyed them every time. Thank you for your effort with this site and I wish you had a book I could buy.

dassana amit

Dec 13, 2016

Welcome Lucy. Thanks a lot for this positive feedback on recipes. We don’t have a plan to make the book right now. But may be in future.

Vanitha

Nov 12, 2016

favorite family recipe. Perfect

dassana amit

Nov 12, 2016

thank you vanitha.

Bint khan

Oct 20, 2016

The dal becomes thick and gets set after kept in fridge. Why does that happen?

dassana amit

Oct 20, 2016

most of the gravies and dals become thick. they even become thick at room temperature. i do not know the scientific reason as to exactly what happens with the food molecules, but the cool temperature does thicken the dal.

SS

Nov 12, 2016

Dal when it cools down becomes thick because the starches present in the dal stiffen up. Also the protein strands change with heating and cooling, making a thicker texture. This is a very unscientific description of the food science, but if you google it you can see more detailed explanations.

I must say I love the recipes on your site and I visit often.

dassana amit

Nov 12, 2016

SS, thanks a lot for this info. i will search in google for a more detailed explanation. also thanks for the feedback on the recipe. happy cooking.

sam

Oct 11, 2016

GREAT recipe!!!

dassana amit

Oct 12, 2016

thanks sam.

vanshika

Oct 05, 2016

hi, i love your recipes. thanks a lot. you are my saviour. i have never cooked earlier but now i can cook and get appreciation

dassana amit

Oct 05, 2016

pleased to know this vanshika 🙂 thanks for positive views.

Sanghamitra

Sep 28, 2016

Hi Dasanna Usually I am not fond of dal I wanted to prepare in a tasty way so I tried your dal fry recipe and I had it all alone ? So yummy

dassana amit

Sep 29, 2016

pleased to know you liked the dal fry recipe, thanks for positive views.

swathi

Aug 14, 2016

Finally found the recipe for dal fry which i love in restaurants ! Thank u soo much dassana ? all ur recipes are highly recommended ?

dassana amit

Aug 15, 2016

pleased to know this thank you swathi for your kind and encouraging words 🙂

Nazira

Jul 20, 2016

It’s delicious awesome thank u so much

dassana amit

Jul 20, 2016

welcome nazira and thank you.

sandeepta

Jun 29, 2016

Plz, mam share some soyabin chunk recipes

dassana amit

Jun 29, 2016

sandeepta, i do not make soyabean chunks or granules recipe as i do not use them. i have read that they are made with low grade ingredients, which are not healthy. i am not getting the link where i read. otherwise i would have shared with you.

Akshatha

Jun 08, 2016

Love the flavor of this recipe. It’s so aromatic and delicious! Thank you for the recipe.

dassana amit

Jun 08, 2016

welcome akshatha and thankyou so much 🙂

Ganesh Shenoy

May 24, 2016

Thank you

dassana amit

May 24, 2016

welcome.

Lekhraj Prasad

Feb 22, 2016

Photos and Recipe are awesome >>. <<

dassana amit

Feb 22, 2016

thankyou lekhraj 🙂

Prashant

Feb 08, 2016

Its been many years since I have been looking for this Dal Fry recipe. So long that I have forgotten when I last tasted it. Anyways, it came out awesome. I have high cholesterol so I went with about 1tbsp of ghee 🙂 And only one red and one green chilli. Many thanks for posting this.

dassana amit

Feb 08, 2016

pleased to know this prashant 🙂 thankyou for your kind words also you are welcome. do take care.

Nisha

Jan 05, 2016

but what do you do if you don’t have a pressure cooker?! :'(

dassana amit

Jan 05, 2016

just soak the dal for an hour or two. then drain and keep aside. in a pot, add water and turmeric powder. when the water comes to a boil, add the dal and cook in an open pan. the scum which is formed when cooking, can be just removed with a spoon. simmer till the dal is cooked and soft. for about 1 cup of dal, you can use 3-4 cups water. tuvar dal takes longer time to cook than other dals. depending on the quality of the tuvar dal, it should take about 40 minutes to an hour to cook.

I tried the dal fry recipe from several websites… But nothing ever turned out to be as perfect as this one…

I always like to try new ways of cooking a particular dal or vegetable as cooking it same way all the time gets so boring… However.. sometimes the experiment goes wrong and I wish I had cooked it just like I always do..With your blog.. I can try the new way of cooking something without worrying about the outcome as nothing has ever gone wrong….

Been stuck in this hotel room for a week now…was craving for some Indian food..tried your recipe and loved it..i had it with rice and also tried your other recipe for potato roast…was very satisfying..thank you..

dassana amit

Oct 18, 2015

pleased to know this balaji 🙂 thankyou for trying the potato roast and you are welcome.

Soumya

Aug 12, 2015

I made this for my husband yesterday who usually likes non veg dishes more, but this just tasted awesome & he loved it. I made it with jeera rice. Thank you so much for sharing the wonderful recup. .

dassana amit

Aug 12, 2015

thanks for the feedback soumya.

Maya

Aug 09, 2015

Thanks for this awesome recipe. So flavourful. Once made this for my folks and my mum has now switched from her usual dal recipe and made this her staple one now. Super tasty!

dassana amit

Aug 09, 2015

welcome maya. glad to know this.

Justene Foley-O'Connor

Jun 25, 2015

Thank you so much for this recipe, I am the biggest dahl lover and have tried many recipes- this is the BEST!!! Thank you again for sharing

dassana amit

Jun 25, 2015

welcome justene

Jedidja

Apr 06, 2015

Wonderful recipe! For anyone using an electric pressure cooker, 2.5 cups of water to 1 cup of dal for 6 minutes (plus 10-minute release) seems to work well.

dassana amit

Apr 06, 2015

thanks jedidja for sharing this info.

shruti

Apr 02, 2015

Your recipes are very helpful and easy to understand .. Thanx a big fan 🙂

dassana amit

Apr 02, 2015

welcome shruti. thanks for your kind words.

Radhika Shetty

Mar 30, 2015

One of the best dal fry recipe,subtle taste,perfect one.

dassana amit

Mar 30, 2015

thanks radhika

Laveena

Mar 15, 2015

Hi Dassana,I tried this recipe yesterday nd it was very very tasty,nice to eat with simple brown rice nd this dal.God bless you for your hardwork..do you have any nonveg recipes?

dassana amit

Mar 15, 2015

thanks laveena for your positive feedback and for your prayers. i only cook vegetarian recipes at home.

Santosh

Mar 14, 2015

Just awesome! Even I can cook to surprise my wife and beautiful daughter. Thanks a lot!!!!!

dassana amit

Mar 14, 2015

welcome santosh

riya

Mar 09, 2015

Hats off to u!!!! u make life easier by posting such wonderful, easy, and delicious recipes. Thnx ma’am!!

dassana amit

Mar 09, 2015

welcome riya. thanks for your kind words.

Nilesh sail

Feb 28, 2015

I searched on Google “How to prepare dal fry” and I found this link. Thanks Amit, for sharing this recipe. My friend liked the dal I prepared for the first time. This saved me today.

dassana amit

Feb 28, 2015

welcome nilesh. glad to know this.

sukanya.d

Feb 23, 2015

Dassana all yr recipes r awesome, the step by step process is very helpful thank u……….

dassana amit

Feb 23, 2015

welcome sukanya. thanks for sharing positive feedback on recipes.

Jane Crowley

Feb 19, 2015

Just returned from india and so missing the delicious food. This recipe is really great. I will add tho to my repertoire of excellent dines to make at home. Thank you for sharing this.

Namaste. I am the chef and author of Veg Recipes of India. I shared, tried & tested Indian as well as world vegetarian recipes in a detailed step by step photos, which will help you to make delicious, tasty and tasty vegetarian food easily. READ MORE